1) You Have a Love of the Environment
Using reclaimed wood decreases the demand for newly-harvested virgin wood from forests. This helps preserve the countryside rather than deplete it. There are also the creatures of the forests to take into consideration. Birds nest in trees. Animals like squirrels eat acorns, and insects feed on tree bark — not to mention the various species of plants that rely on tree cover and forestation to live. If too many trees are felled, many of these creatures and plants will lose their natural habitats.
Virgin wood involves felling, transporting and processing the trees, which have a massive impact on the environment – but using reclaimed wood reduces this impact. When it’s harvested responsibly, reclaimed wood is a renewable resource that reduces both the use of environmental hazards to make new products and landfill waste.
Knowing you’re using wood that’s been saved from the landfill is an environmentally responsible choice, and it’s one of the top reasons to choose reclaimed wood.
2) You Love to Give Old Wood Life
Perhaps you’re passionate about conservation and about reusing the materials we have around us. If this is the case, you’ll love to give old wood a new life. Today’s century-old reclaimed wood emerges from a time when wood was in abundance, and was used as a principal building material. It could be from a revered factory that employed hundreds of workers, from a magnificent historic bridge or from a beautiful old barn. When you buy old wood furniture, you’re also purchasing a piece of unique history.
It’s easy and inexpensive to change up the look of your home with a few reclaimed wood fixtures. Reclaimed wood provides a vintage look, is long-lasting and can be passed down for generations of your family to enjoy.
3) You Love the Character of Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed wood is unique in that it offers ageless distinction and beauty. It’s also unparalleled in terms of its architectural quality. Every piece is different and cannot be replicated. Reclaimed wood has so much character, and its age only brings out its allure, depth and color even further.
There is a specific uniquely weathered beauty about reclaimed wood that has so much more “heart” than mass produced modern pieces. Old wood displays random character marks and has a rich patina that draws you into it.
4) You Want to Use Durable and Strong Lumber
As well as looking unique, items constructed from reclaimed wood are both durable and strong. When old residences, warehouses and factories were built, only the most stable and durable timbers were used to support them. It’s a fact that many of these old buildings have stood strong for many hundreds of years.
Old wood is far stronger than the lumber of today because the pieces originating from before the 20th century received little to no air pollution. Additionally, most old wood comes from virgin timber that grew for many hundreds of years before being cut down by humans.
5) You Want to Use the Most Stable Wood Available
Old growth wood is more dimensionally stable than wood that’s been newly-harvested. This is due to old wood having been exposed to many changes in humidity over prolonged periods of time.
This gives pieces constructed from old wood far more stability than fresh timber. Additionally, the wood has been through many different extremes of weather and changes in climate. Because of this, reclaimed wood is much more stable and is able to better handle the wear and tear of everyday life. Consequently, your furniture pieces will remain looking good for many years to come.
For all the above reasons, using reclaimed timber makes sense. There is something that’s inspirational and even magical about transforming wood that’s weathered and old into something useful and new. Due to its history, it has the power to strike a chord within us, reminding us that everything in life has its cycle.
At Jaoudi Furnitures, our mission is caring about our environment as well as keeping our link to the past alive toward the future in every our reclaimed furniture product.
